My first memories of the Martini livery came from 1:18-scale model of a Porsche owned by my uncle (I should specify that he had the model, not the car!). I would have been about 7 or 8 years old at that time, but though far from fully appreciating cars at this point, the image struck me and stuck with me from that day on; I was immediately intrigued by these appealing colors arranged in their complex striped patterns on these white and silver cars. It was a very stark mix, with a lot of contrast and color, but never felt “busy” either.
The first time that I saw some real Martini racing cars was when I arrived in the UK, just three years ago, meaning it’d been about two decades of waiting to glimpse the real things after holding onto the memories of that model for so long. Even after witnessing their presence firsthand, every subsequent encounter with an official Martini Racing car has done nothing to dilute the impact. For instance, winning at Le Mans isn’t something to forget about.
Last weekend, I attended the Goodwood Festival of Speed for the fourth time with the same excitement as the previous year, no doubt in part supported by the opportunity to see some of history’s motorsports heroes, many of which were wearing Martini colors.
We arrived quite early, around 7:30 AM, in order to get the chance to see the cars in the paddocks without too many people getting in the way of some clean photos. What little breath I had left was more or less taken away when I came upon the tent housing the Martini cars:
Lancia 037, Porsche RSR, Porsche 917, Porsche 935/78 (the “Moby Dick”)… Putting it lightly, I was delighted.
I spent the next 15 minutes with my friend just walking around them and trying to capture each lovely detail that one can spot on the cars if given the time to really look at them; the work on each livery is very meticulous and emphasizes the beauty of the car. It’s not a one-size-fits-all design though it may seem that way to some.
Near them, Martini’s latest Formula 1 effort was pursuing the legacy of these legends of the track. What a beautiful scene of history and provenance and the present. This year the Driver’s Club at Goodwood was also paying tribute to Martini’s long history; a long carpet atop the grass with the Martini colors was flanked by liveried Lancia Deltas for display.
In my opinion, it is and will remain the most beautiful livery ever created. I felt like a kid being able to approach these cars like the ones in my memories of my childhood. Full size is in fact the most fun size!
